At the ready?

I listened to Captain Scott O’Grady share his story of how he was shot down over Bosnia. For six days he was alone in enemy territory. There were times when the enemy would walk within six feet of where he was hiding. On the sixth day of hiding, he was able to make radio contact for help. Within two hours the Marines were able fly in and extract him from enemy territory and bring him safely back. They did so with flawless precision.

I was amazed by his story. The average age of his rescuers was 19 years old. When these guys got the call to come to his rescue, they didn’t just kind-of wing it. They relied upon hours of training and maneuvers. They had a plan and they executed that plan very well because they were “at the ready.”

Do you have a faith that is “at the ready?” I hope so, because you never know when you need to call upon an extra dose of faith. Faith is described in Hebrews 11:1 as confidence in what we hope for and the assurance of things not seen.

Of course, we always need to have confidence in God, that He is who He says He is and that His promises are always in effect. Yet there are certain events in our life where we have to have faith at the ready. We won’t have the time to scramble around to find some faith to get us through.

I have sat with families that have lost loved ones and I have conducted their funerals. Some of those families had their faith at the ready. Through the tears and the grief they say things like, “We just know he’s in a better place”; “We are gonna miss her, but it’s good to know that we will see her again”; and “God is comforting us.” That’s the language of one that has faith at the ready.

The families that do not have faith at the ready? Well, their language is different. They say things like, “I can never go on without him”; “I will never see her again”; and “There is nothing after death, this is it.”

Troubles do come. It’s not a matter of if but when. Make sure your faith is at the ready.

We don’t need faith at the ready only when a crisis happens. We also need faith at the ready when an opportunity comes our way. You may be presented with a new career opportunity or a ministry opportunity. Our Father is big on presenting to us opportunities. But it will stretch you. It’s going take faith. Are you going to look beyond yourself and place your hope and trust in God? Or are you gonna play it safe? The answer to that question depends upon if you have faith that is at the ready.

••• Editor’s note: Tim Wallace is pastor of Cross Brand Church. To contact him, e-mail tim@crossbrand.org. For more of Tim’s articles, go to www.tallinthesaddle.wordpress.org